Writing vegan recipes from my travels

Archive for the ‘Spain’ Category

The experience for a vegan eating out in restaurants in Spain can range from being daunting (not knowing what the dishes and especially the sauces contain) to verging on the rather monotonous, for reasons explained below. (See my blog here about what I packed for the Camino di Santiago – clothes and food.)

The country is completely self-sufficient by growing every imaginable crop (tropical fruit may come from the Canary Islands), and the markets are brimming with the bounty of the land. Depending on the area, a 3 – 4 page menu will mostly offer meat, fish (if it’s near the coast) and cheese dishes. In our experience after travelling around Spain for 3 months and visiting hundreds of villages for morning snacks, lunches, afternoon snacks, tapas and dinners, you may expect a few truly vegan dishes at some establishments, for example: grilled, plain red bell peppers in garlic and olive oil; pan-fried “Pimientos de Padron” (small, sweet green bell peppers in olive oil and salt; “Escalivada” (grilled mixed vegetables); “Gazpacho” (raw tomato soup) and salads: some would be downright soulless consisting of a plate of iceberg lettuce, tomato quarters, olives (if you ask for them), corn (if you’re lucky, bottled), asparagus (bottled, even when in season); while others are wonderfully satisfying with up to 12 different vegetables in them.

Grilled vegetables – a standard menu item

RESTAURANTS

Fried broad beans, baked chickpeas and fried giant corn kernels

So, to make one’s dishes more interesting, and to take the stress away when you eat out with visiting family or friends, COME PREPARED. Bring your own protein source, for example hotel room-sprouted quinoa or mung beans), plastic container of cooked lentils; little bag of lightly salted almonds and toasted cashews; huge maze kernels found at the markets; small tin or jar of chickpeas/peas/beans, opened and rinsed out in your room; vegan cheese or spread; packet of marinated tofu; slices of tempeh; slices of vegan cold ‘meats’, etc. At the Paradors, there is a separate vegetarian menu with at least 3 or 4 vegan choices with each course. These dishes are outstanding, varies according to the season and the region, are balanced and delicious (they’ve been drawn up by the Vegetarian Society of Spain).

Interestingly, where I have been disappointed (outraged!) a number of times with the food and service was not at the regular restaurants, but at the Vegetarian ones. They will insist on adding cheese or eggs to your dish, even after asking expressively to omit these (we spoke English and Spanish). My advice is to either go to purely vegan eateries (they are doing a fantastic job), or go to the regular restaurants. I found the waiters extremely knowledgable about vegan food, they were helpful steering me around the menu or suggesting how they will be able to veganize a meal.

THE CAMINO

Baskets of dried pulses – a vegan’s delight

If you stay in accommodation that has a kitchen, it is very easy to eat vegan. Dried pulses are light to carry and provide an easy protein. On the Camino are various shops: some selling only fresh vegetables and fruit; others stock produce, dried pulses and nuts apart from the usual cheese and meat. There are also tiny supermarket-style delis offering jars of preserved vegetables (such as asparagus, beans, chickpeas etc), chocolates (lots of dark, vegan options), dried mushrooms and olive oil. Dried beans take too long to cook, and you will be too tired! Couscous, millet, buckwheat and quinoa are quick to prepare, add a tin of cooked pulses and vegetables. Bake your own vegan biscuits before you go on the Camino to take with you.

In my experience, it’s actually easier to be raw vegan on the Camino. Then there’s no expectation of finding vegetable patties or tofu anywhere! Take your nut milk bag with you, soak mung beans, chickpeas or lentils (available all along the way) overnight in a mug or bowl, then sprout. Supplement further with bliss balls (roughly grind together dates, raw cashews and cinnamon – all available along the Camino – to make your own bliss balls along the way), nuts, fresh vegetables, fruit and dried fruit; buy glass jars or ring-pulled tins with asparagus, mushrooms, chestnuts etc.; take with you little bags of spirulina powder and raw protein powder for your protein needs. There are lovely picnic spots in the towns’ parks or at the entrances of villages. Recycling bins are usually close-by.

Bliss balls: raw cashews, dates, cacao and cinnamon

Keep in mind that for siesta, the shops all close at either 12 or 1pm, to open again only at 4:30 or 5pm.

BRING WITH FROM ORGANIC SHOPS IN BIGGER TOWNS:

High protein grains, such as quinoa (which cooks quickly and can be sprouted), millet or amaranth are not readily available in the smaller towns, so bring your own in a small bag. White rice is available but sometimes not brown. I brought along savoury and sweet vegan biscuits; vegan spreads made from sunflower seed; few tablespoons of nut butter spooned into a tiny plastic jar; TVP which is super light in weight and cooks in minutes; vegan chorizo and tofu sausages; sugar-free protein powder (even better if it contains probiotics).

SUPPLEMENTS TO TAKE ON THE CAMINO
Vitamins: CoQ10 (for energy); B12 and iron; probiotics that don’t need refrigeration (with these you can also ferment your nut milks overnight to make yoghurt).

SNACKS

Bottled hazelnuts and spelt savoury biscuits

I baked my own rusks beforehand when I had an oven (with lots of dried fruit, nuts and protein powder for a solid snack); dried fruit (especially figs for calcium, raisins (not sultanas) for iron, goji berries (for calcium and iron), apricots and dates (for magnesium and energy); nuts and seeds for energy and some protein. Buy these at the produce shops in the towns you’ll be passing through. Vegan chocolate is available everywhere (the higher percentage the less likely to melt easily in the heat) – I buy 85%. Vegan, sugar-free protein energy bars: in my experience sugar depletes your energy levels very fast. Look for items sweetened with date paste or raisins.

LIQUIDS

There are water fountains all along the route, but it’s best to consult a good map to see where they are indicated. We carried a filter water bottle to fill at the many fountains to cut down on buying plastic water bottles. I brought along a couple of small boxes of rice/soy/oat milk to vary my diet. I’d open these in the evenings, add probiotic powder and leave at room temperature to ferment, making my own yoghurt for the morning. I took a small one cup plastic bottle of Kombucha fermented tea with me: these are very high in Vitamin B (which gets depleted with excessive exercise), probiotics (a good protection should you encounter a stomach bug) and it gives loads of energy.

OTHER SMALL ITEMS

I took along small bags of salt; herbs; blend of cumin and coriander; ground black pepper; dried mushrooms and a zip-lock bag with interesting herbal teas. I also brought my own muesli which is sugar-free and one small half-cup plastic container of soy sugar-free dessert with added probiotics as a treat for one of the days.

Dry mushrooms, licorice sticks and dried fruits

Some VEGAN menu items you may encounter in cafés and restaurants:

You may want to get out of the midday sun or pelting rain by going inside an eatery for a spot of lunch. For vegan options, it’s best to order side dishes and starters. Supplement with the items listed above. These are traditionally always vegan:

Another enjoyable day on Mallorca was a drive along the south coast visiting a number of beaches and coves where the gentle still water was a light turquoise and the sand white and soft. Both Menorca and Mallorca are very rocky with few natural beaches. The best swimming however is at the coves where a steep rocky path or stone steps lead down to deep inlets with just a patch of sand. The water is transparent, calm and there are no rocks in the water – again, just like a swimming pool!

Stunning swimming cove in a nature reserve on Mallorca

Organic shop in Campú

As we drove back to our hotel among the almond orchards, we noticed that newly built houses all had windmills – modern stainless steel ones – built as part of the structure. Our guess is that instead of milling stuff, they are now used to generate energy. We stopped at a marvellous organic shop in Campú selling all my staples of pulses, nuts and fresh produce. We bought a bag of each the purple-black figs (red centres and juicy) and green figs (wine-red inside and very sweet).

Cove beach near Cueva Dracha caves

There is a large network of caves on the island, two of which are open to the public. We drove over an hour north-east to “Cuevas del Drach” (dragon caves), by far the most spectacular one. Because it’s so popular, one has to buy a timed entry ticket to join the tour. We managed to get the first tour, at 10am, so to while away the time until then we quickly drove to a nearby cove to go swimming in glass-like light blue languid water. The sides of this cove are developed, but in an architectural pleasing way: all-white villas cluster together on the steep slopes, with slight variations in style but all had characteristic red tile roofs. (I remember how the roof tiles were painted white as well on Menorca to deflect the sun rays.)

Back at the caves, we were disappointed to be part of a huge group of people (our guess was about 300). Nevertheless, after descending 29m via a broad, easy path and many steps we reached a cool, softly lit wonderland. Having been to many caves before, this one struck me as particularly beautiful. The calcium formations were incredibly delicate – massive expanses of the roof was covered in thin needle-like stalactites; others formed Oriental pagoda forms or huge cauliflower columns. We were amazed at other structures that resembled thin, almost transparent gently folded curtains. The caves contain one of the largest underground salt lakes in the world, with a depth of 6 meters. We all sat down on benches near the lake, when the lights were dimmed. Three boats, lit with faery lights around their rims, were slowly being paddled across the lake in front of us while musicians gave a 10 minute classical concert. It was spellbinding and felt as though we were on a set of the Hobbit film!

Moorish architecture in Palma

One morning we drove to Palma, its heavy morning traffic on 4 lane motorways not unlike that of any big city. The inner (old part) of the city turned out to be quite nice as we visited the gardens of the erstwhile Moorish palace, 10th century remains of the Arab baths, stared at the very colourfully painted buildings, bought another bag of figs in the beautiful covered market and had tea and later an early lunch in cafeterias situated in converted palaces with glass-domed courtyards.

Although we had an enjoyable time on the Balearics, by comparison I prefer Menorca: there is a lot of pride in being uniquely Menorquin having their own language, culture, history, centuries-old festivals, community feel, pretty and well-maintained villages, more laid-back life-style, cleaner uncrowded beaches, lack of heavy industries, and not being suffocated by mass tourism as Mallorca.

Quiet town of St. Lluis on Menorca

We can hardly believe our 3 months in Spain are over, having had a fantastic time exploring and learning. Lasting impressions are: its friendly and patient people; incredible pride and adhering to strong traditions to preserve local language, customs, festivals and dishes; the country’s commitment to the ecology with its hundreds of wind turbines and solar panel farms; its impressive and well-maintained road system of incredible motorways and extensive, costly tunnels; the huge change in landscape, climate and architectural styles; the wealth of fascinating history; the commendable fact that Spain imports virtually no fresh produce (not even from close neighbouring countries like Portugal or France) and instead produce everything itself and having a national program to preserve historical buildings.

It was a country that was in fact very easy for a vegan to travel around in, contrary to what I’be been warned about (mostly by non-vegans!). Nowhere did I have to explain what vegans eat or don’t eat and I’ve always encountered a friendly, professional attitude to my dietary needs. Other useful information: health shops are called “Herbolario” (mostly small but useful for supplements, refrigerator items and snacks; Happy Cow lists most organic shops (there are in fact a lot more which I discovered by just walking around) and a huge department store, called El Corte Ingles found all over Spain has a large area in its food hall that stocks organic produce and amazing vegan foods (either in several isles or as a separate area within the food hall). In my next blog, I write more extensively about holidaying as a vegan in Spain and explaining various dishes and menu items.

We are not relishing our next two days which will be spent on 3 flights, but we’ve got countless memories and pictures that will play over and over in our minds for months to come.

Since the island of Mallorca is far too mountainous to cycle, we rather took the car to drive inland to visit some high villages. After a number of long tunnels, an hour on mountain passes with hairpin bends and squeezing past countless tour buses on the narrow roads, we reached Sóller. This town became extremely wealthy a couple of hundred years ago from exporting olive oil to France. Even today the French influence in their mountain dialect is evident (the menus read like a mix between Catalan, Latin and French!), and also their building style is more reminiscent of Nice in the south of France. Another charming component to this cute town is a vintage electric wooden train that runs here from Palma (takes only 15 minutes), and from here one can continue the scenic journey by taking an antique wooden tram to its port (Port de Sóller).

The mountain town of Sóller

A quiet cobbled residential street in Sóller

The villages up here enjoy a cooler climate, with snow on the Tramuntana range in the winter. The terrain is very steep, so whole

Wooden antique train in Sóller

vineyards or olive and almond farms have been terraced with low stone walls. We drove further north to Pollença, stopping on the way at Lluc, a huge monastery complex in the mountains. The place claims that in the 1300’s a shepherd boy discovered the Black Madonna and Child, that’s now on display in the church. Pollença has honey-coloured buildings with narrow streets shared by cars and pedestrians; the town also seemed very hot with no trees planted on the streets except for the square. On the square, Plaça Major, is a number of cafés and a lively fruit and vegetable market on Sundays.

Alcúdia with surviving 15th C walls

After a quick lunch of various tapas dishes, we continued to Alcudia for tea and cake. This amazing town has Roman ruins and the old town is tucked in by the nearly complete 14th century crenelated walls and its huge arched entrance gates. It felt like stepping back in time. The buildings, which resemble wealthy merchant houses, had the most beautiful architecture with carved wooden embellishments. We noticed that many of those buildings were dated around the mid-15th century. By chance we stepped inside an ice-cream shop (Helados Garrido, at Port d’Alcúdia, on Passeig Maritim 20) with an impressive array of ice-creams (including various dark chocolate ones), when I spotted 2 soy ice-cream flavours. I nearly danced on the spot! As we were wandering through the cobbled lanes where pot plants lined the stone walls, I slowly savoured my scoop of hazelnut soy ice-cream.

Our week on Menorca flew by, and it was time to depart for our last destination of our Spanish trip – Mallorca. The time tables of the sequence of various modes of transport – bicycle, bus, boat – were carefully planned. We first cycled through Maó, where the cobble streets were being prepared for the weekend’s festival (Festa celebrating the birth of Mother Maria): it’s a pity that I miss a big part of the event, which would be horses galloping through the streets, hence the piles of sand being raked over the cobbles. We bought a seed baguette-style loaf of bread at our favourite bakery, and cycled further to the bus station. The hour long express bus to Ciutadella went very quickly as we passed small villages, megalithic structures on farms and the neatly built dry stone walls typically used all over the island.

Cycle ways along stone walls

Ciutadella has an extensive, well-painted and curbed cycle network throughout the town. It was such a pleasure to cycle from the bus station to the new port where the ferries depart for the other Balearic Islands. The ferries were enormous and looked like buildings. After a relaxed crossing of 2 hours in our own small cabin (where we enjoyed our own vegan food we brought along), we arrived in Majorca (Mallorca). It was a short cycle ride to the bus station, where we caught yet another bus from the top of the island where we landed down to the south, another 1 and a half hour journey. This island is bigger than Menorca, with high mountains resembling the Alps, has a big population and receives many visitors (in 2007 over 22 million tourists came here!!). The island also has a lot of traffic: there is a train line and motorways have 3-4 lanes. The landscape was dotted with creamy-white windmills in various stages of neglect.

We arrived in Palma, a rather charmless city, except for La Seu – the huge cathedral built in Catalan Gothic style, rising dramatically above the harbour. It apparently has the largest rose window in the world! The last haul of our busy commuting day was a pretty 15km cycle along the seafront in special cycle lanes. Dog-tired we arrived at our accommodation at 6pm after nearly 12 hours of travelling, only to find the owner – a shady German guy – had misrepresented his holiday rental villa. According to his website, we were supposed to have the entire house with private pool, kitchen, washing machines etc., while instead, he lead us through his untidy house with yelling toddlers, up 2 flights of stairs to a below-average student type flat with a tiny caravan-size kitchenette, with none of the amenities mentioned above. Hmmm.

After a bit of arguing, we left after he paid us 75% back of what we’ve already pre-paid. So, there we were without accommodation, at 7 in the evening in the busiest holiday time of the year and the sun sets in an hour. We first tried the internet on our cell phones for alternative accommodation, with no success; then we cycled from one hotel to the next just to find everything booked up. After cycling a third of the way back to Palma, we finally got a room in a couples-only hotel for just one night. Luckily, after an exhaustive search on the internet the next day we found a hotel away from the sea and partying holiday makers, for the remaining part of our stay. In order to reach the hotel, we had to rent another car. The beautiful hotel is situated in the countryside surrounded by groves of almonds and farms segmented by dry stone walls. The converted and extended farm buildings are arranged around swimming pools in a group of pleasing stone buildings partly covered by deep-green ivy and sweetly scented jasmine. The 17th century chapel on the grounds (in fact just 15 meters from our veranda) as well as an old windmill were lovingly restored. In the evenings we listened to owls in the nearby trees, and watched stunning sunsets as the sky turns soft yellow, pastel pink then a flaming orange.

Our hotel and restored chapel on the grounds

Although the original farm buildings had been turned into a stunning hotel, my preference is usually to stay in a place with a kitchen. Especially being so far away from any towns, I did not want to have to eat my meals in the hotel. We solved my dilemma in an ingenious way: buying an electric frying pan with a glass lid at the reliable “El Corte Ingles” department store! This kitchen-in-one was an amazing piece of equipment. I had huge fun making our lunches and dinners in the deep pan. Since we had a garden room, I’d do everything outside: dry-frying spices and setting those aside; boiling rice / quinoa / couscous and setting that aside; using olive oil, frying garlic and onions, adding vegetables (and cold rooibos tea as stock, if using); heating store-bought vegan empanadas; boiling vegan tortellini pasta, the possibilities are endless! Since I also travel with my Tribest blender, I could grind spices and nuts with the grinder blade and make smoothes, sauces and nut creams with the other blade. Here is a photograph of our pantry in our hotel cupboard!

Our food cupboard in Mallorca

Salt heaps at Flor de Sel

After a rather bumpy introduction to Mallorca, we started to enjoy ourselves and the first thing I did was to read up about its history. Just like Menorca, Mallorca was also inhabited by pre-historic people, albeit earlier at 6000-4000 BC. The island was then ruled by the Romans from 123 BC, founding the towns of Palma (as Palmaria, on top of a Talaiotic settlement) and Pollenćia. The main economy then, as it is even today, were olive farming, viticulture and salt mining. We drove one day passed Flor de Sel, a huge salt operation with mountains of gleaming white salt being piled high by tractors. Products mostly for sale in the shops at the nearby villages are olive oil, salt and almond products.

A particularly lovely shop selling olive oils and a range of various salts

The Sunday we were in Menorca at Maó, we unexpectedly came across the start of a “fiesta”. Groups of Menorcans were dressed in traditional clothes and holding elaborately shaped mandolins. The women carried bunches of flowers and 3 meter tall figures in wooden frames dressed in Menorcan clothes were being paraded. The procession of musicians, singing Menorcans and children riding floral decorated donkeys

Skilful rider on a Warlander Horse

were followed by horse-carts and men attired in black riding the massive black Menorcan stallions. These horses, a mix between the Spanish Andalusian and Arabian breeds had been specially trained to perform various movements, notably the one Menorca festivals are famous for (the “bot”, or walking “courbette”): instructing his horse to rear up, a rider walks his horse on its hind legs through the crowd for as long as possible, while the rider sits back in his saddle!

Mahon (Maó) is now the capital of Menorca, after it had been moved by the British in the 1700’s from Ciutadella to Maó. The natural harbour (the second deepest in the world), snaking almost a kilometre inland was an obvious asset. The old town is largely pedestrianised with mansions and lovely Georgian town houses lining the narrow streets. Interestingly, ‘mayonnaise’ comes originally from Mahon. It is reputed that a Frenchman, called Du Plessis that fought the British in Menorca, was served a tasty sauce (“salsa mahonesa”) at a local inn in Maó (Mahon). When he returned to Paris, he introduced the sauce to the royal court which was summarily liked and adopted, becoming “mayonnaise”.

Neat buildings in Ciutadella

The other large town, Ciutadella, is incredibly pretty with its pink pastel coloured buildings (while most other towns have buildings painted either in white or dark red), palm trees on its squares and a picturesque harbour, jutting far inland and surrounded by restaurants and little shops. I had a very tasty 2 course vegan lunch in Ciutadella of an asparagus, nut and leaves salad followed by “pisto manchego” a slow-baked stew of zucchini, tomato, bell pepper, and onion served in a shallow baking dish with just the right amount of tomato sauce.

Ciutadella’s old harbour

Pre-historic site of Torralba d’en Salord (1500 BC)

Menorca is well-known for its wealth of pre-historic sites – in fact, there are over 1600 on the island. As one cycles along the low stone walls, stopping a few times to pat the gorgeous horses (of course!), one comes across these incredible sites every now and then. The closest pre-historic site is Trepucó, just south of Maó. Near Alaior is Torralba d’en Salord, the biggest pre-historic settlement. The structures were so well-preserved, it almost felt like trespassing!

Food storage cave at Torralba d’en Salord

Es Mercadal, in the centre of the island, is a pretty bougainvilla town. For our morning tea break, we went to a lovely bakery where I had steaming sourdough rolls straight from the oven, filled with walnuts, raisins and orange peel. I found a well-stocked organic shop in the pedestrian area, called Margarita Dietética on Calle Nou 29.

Cycle path between St Lluis and Maó

Pretty bay of “Cala en Porter”

The beaches on the island are truly stunning. Some of the best are: Cala en Porter, a delightful place and one of the oldest holiday towns on the island with clusters of identical white villas. The sea water is an incredible light blue and the beach is reached via steep winding stairs. Santa Galdana is another beautiful beach, with its white sand and turquoise water. Walk west from there to Marcella Cove, and yet further west is Cala en Turqueta. East of Santa Galdana is Cala Mitjana (but this can be a very busy beach).

Other stunning swimming beaches are: Punta Prima (near Biniancolla, east of Binibeca); Cala Binibeca (at Binibeca Vell – a pretty resort town, built in 1972 to resemble typical Menorcan fishing town with its very narrow alleys and white two storey houses); Els Canutells (west of Binibeca); Son Bou (west of Els Canutells) at 3km it is the longest beach with white sand on the island. There are 3 quiet beaches on the west coast: Cala Blanca, Sa Caleta and Son Oleo. Son Xoriguer is the starting point for horse riding trips into the reserve.

We woke up early dreading a lo-o-o-ng day of driving, flying, cycling … But 12 hours later, we actually felt surprisingly chirpy.

We set off after our buffet breakfast in Valencia and drove relaxedly the 4 hours to Barcelona. How strange it felt to be back there again after nearly 3 months of adventures and explorations! We took our car (that we got rather attached to) back to the agency we bought it from. The procedure of checking the car over and signing the necessary paperwork didn’t take more than 3 minutes! We clocked up exactly 7512 km!

View from our apartment

Our 1 hour domestic flight to Menorca left punctually, arriving at 6pm on the island. I had a good feeling about the place from the moment we stepped outside the airport building. The total population is just under 100 000 people. The island is well-developed and modern, with large forested areas, numerous coves and beaches and all the roads are in excellent condition. No little backwater this! Although the road was slightly busy, we each cycled with a rucksack, panier and bicycle bag the 7 km from the airport to the town of Maó (in Castilian, or Mahon in Catalan). Our accommodation was opposite the yacht harbour: a renovated apartment on the top (2nd) floor, fitted out a little too modern for our taste, but very comfortable nevertheless. Arriving after the food shops had already closed, we ordered a plate of grilled vegetables from the pizza restaurant downstairs as a take-away to enjoy in our own space.

Old town of Mao

The next morning we walked to the market nearby (the outdoor one is on Plaça Carme while the indoor “Mercat” is next to Església del Carme), housed in a building that used to be a convent. The broad corridors of the square cloister are occupied by small shops and cafés. We bought nuts, millet, quinoa, brown rice, dried white beans and olive oil from an organic shop; dark, heavy bread and whole-wheat crackers from the bakery; teas and spices from the herb and spice stall and went crazy shopping at the various fruit and

Sun-ripened figs and sweet green gages

vegetable vendors. There was even a stall that specialised in various chillies! To our delight we found that the figs (one of our favourite fruits) are, regardless whether they had green or purple skins, in fact all deep red inside and incredibly sweet. When cut in half the inside looks like jelly!

The island has some beautiful beaches, small C-shaped bays and secluded coves some of which only reachable after a long cliff top walk or down steep stairs cut into sheer rock. We cycled 50 km one day, visiting a few stunning beaches. The sand on the south side of the island is white, soft and fine as powder while the sea is shallow and calm and the water a light blue colour. It seemed more like a swimming pool than the sea. With our goggles we followed schools of small fish, which would come and nibble one’s skin if you stand still in the water. At one beach an old windmill (of which only a handful are still operational on the island) was converted into a small café.

Stunning secluded beaches on Menorca

I had fun in the kitchen making my own fermented quinoa milk (after rinsing three-quarters of a cup of white quinoa with clean water, soak overnight in a lot of water; leave to sprout (a few hours), rinse; blend with 3 cups of filtered or bottled water until creamy; squeeze through a nut milk bag (discard the pulp); empty one capsule of probiotic powder in it and whisk to mix; pour into a glass bottle and put the lid on tightly. Stand for 1 – 2 days until effervescent. Store in the fridge.)

Big variety of breads and pastries in even small bakeries

A traditional cake seen at all the bakeries in Maó, is called “Ensaïmada cabello angel” – pastry made from pork fat, filled with a type of apple-pumpkin mash, and placed rolled up like a snake in a baking dish to bake until golden. A much healthier vegan version could be to use very thin dough (make vegan pasta dough, rolled through a pasta machine to also get the long lengths of dough; or use filo), filled with cooked sweet potato mash, spices and fine orange zest or use almond paste, banana, allspice and preserved lemon peel for a Moroccan touch; rolled up and brushed with lemon-flavoured olive oil, then baked.

The change in landscape driving along the coast from Xabía (Javía) was dramatic.

Monastery in an orange grove

Via Verde to Puçon

Leaving the high mountains behind, shrubs and wild herbs suddenly gave way to the deep green of orange groves as far as the eye could see. This part of the coast is suitably called “Costa del Azahar” (orange blossom coast). The orange farms are neatly laid out, sometimes being terraced with stone walls up the hills. Oranges actually hail from China originally: while the Seville orange, being bitter, is mainly used to make marmalade; the sweet Valencian orange is used for juicing. The deep, orange juice (not the usual yellow colour I’m used to) is so sweet, it tastes almost syrupy.

Farms along the Via Verde

We stayed in a hotel for 4 nights, right on the beach. From there we had easy access to cycle ways in all directions. We did a particularly pretty 40 km cycle ride from Valencia to Puçon – a new, modern village built in the traditional style. The smoothly paved cycle path was painted red and was again a dis-used old railway line, passing small patches of farmland. Most farms were the size of an average suburban property, so (small) tractors are a rare sight. Work is done manually, or horses are used. We saw a number of horse carts pulling various hand-made farm implements. Very eco-friendly!

The tiger nut farms deserve a special mention. Called “chufa”, these grasslike plants are grown field upon field, the farms separated from each other by low walls and narrow water channels. In the summer, the fields are flooded using a sluicing system, then the grass is allowed to dry out. The fields are then burned down and the subterranean nobbly little bulbs of the plants are collected and made into the popular Spanish drink of “horchata de chufa”, made in exactly the same way as almond milk, just with a lot of sugar added. Country-wide, every bar, café, ice-cream shop and even bakery sports a large transparent container on their counters slowly turning the white tiger nut milk. Although it’s vegan, this is too sweet for me!

Chufa “Tiger nut” farms along the Via Verde

We had some delicious dinners in Valencia. At one restaurant on the beach I had two courses, consisting of a starter (white asparagus and olives) and a main of variously grilled vegetables (to which I added my own vegan soy sausage, chorizo-flavoured, of course!

Grilled vegetables at the beach restaurant

Vegan restaurant Kimpiri

A very special lunch that was specifically on my list “to do”, was at Kimpira, a gourment organic vegan restaurant (on Juristas 12). I had their tasting platter of:

Vegan chocolate cheesecake

millet triangle-cakes with tofu sour cream, tofu-leek quiche and salad dressed with apple-cucumber juice. I ended with their vegan chocolate cheesecake (the dessert was not the best, but it was great to be able to order anything off the menu).

For all your ingredients to make a typical Valencian paella (many restaurants do offer a vegetarian “Paella”), head to Mercat Central. This architectural masterpiece is one of the oldest markets in Europe, with over 8 centuries of history. Although an enormous covered market, I still preferred the one in Barcelona. The ‘La Morhada Organic stall’ has organic produce.

Victorian market

Valencia is a wonderful cycling-friendly city. Pavements had been reconstructed to include cycle ways, or cycle paths were painted on the pavements in special dual lanes. Just like Seville, Córdoba and Barcelona, Valencia operates a cycling rental scheme. One has access to these bikes 24 hours a day by simply registering with your credit card at one of the bike stations. The 3-gear, heavy but easy-peddle bicycles can be taken and deposited back at nearly a hundred stations around the city, at a distance of no more than 2 blocks from each other. We used them constantly – the first half hour being free – with no worries that our own bikes might be stolen.

Broad promenade in front of our hotel – rental bikes

One evening while a thunderstorm was lumbering in the distance we cycled to the Oceanography park. It’s an aquatic centre on a massive scale. There were huge and very deep pools with large glass frontages. We watched white beluga whales play and in another were walruses. I bought myself a large plastic container of popcorn – this was not made with the usual butter addition. At 10:45pm the show started we came to see: synchronised swimming with dolphins. Eight women swam in pattern formations with 10 dolphins in an elegant performance accompanied by music and lights. Well after midnight we grabbed a pair of city bicycles from the nearest bike station and cycled back to our hotel, about 6 km away, along well-lit cycle paths.

Beautiful buildings in Valencia

The following evening was just as special: we went swimming in the luke-warm sea in front of our hotel early evening, and decided we’d stay in the water until sunset. There were still lots of people in the sea. It was so beautiful to watch the colour of the water turn a silky orange. It was also good timing: as the sun was setting, the full moon rose like a blazing yellow beach ball. We finally dragged ourselves from the water, feeling rather peckish – no wonder, because it was 9:15 already!

I'm Laurinda Erasmus, a vegan chef who loves travelling and experiencing other cultures. I'm passionate about general well-being, the environment, alternative energy and gardening. I paint, play music, learn new languages, do various handcrafts and just love messing about in the kitchen for hours!